Glossary or terms and definitions

Use this Glossary to get familiar with the definitions of various words and terms that apply to the CVITP, you can find throughout this training website and during the process of preparing a tax return.

Accumulated Income Payments: Amounts usually paid to the subscriber, of the income earned from an RESP.
Administrator: Volunteer who schedules appointments, makes follow-up calls, books space for tax clinics and performs other administrative tasks.
Allowance: A monthly non-taxable benefit available to individuals aged 60 to 64 who have a modest income, are the spouse or common-law partner of a guaranteed income supplement recipient and live in Canada. Other residency criteria and income threshold requirements must also be met. The amount received will also appear in box 21, under Net supplements paid.

Band council: A body of Indians for whose collective use and benefit lands have been set apart or money is held by the Crown, or who have been declared to be a band for the purpose of the Indian Act.

Canadian resident: An individual is considered a resident of Canada when they live in and have at least one significant tie and several secondary ties in Canada. Most newcomers who move to Canada with the intentions of staying here are considered residents from the time they enter Canada.
Client Data Enquiry: An information page available to authorized representatives that allows view access to various data elements of an individual’s account. The page provides a detailed summary of a client's account, including any amounts that apply.
Common-law: Someone who lives in a marriage-like relationship with another person but is not legally married to that person, and at least one of the following situations applies:

the individual and their partner have lived together in a marriage-like relationship for at least 12 months in a row (including any time they were separated for less than 90 days because of a breakdown in the relationship)

the individual has a child with their partner by birth or adoption

the individual's partner has custody and control of the individual's child (or had custody and control immediately before the child turned 19 years of age), and the child depends entirely on the individual's common-law partner for support
CVITP Organization Identification Number (COIN): A unique and permanent eight digit identification number, given to organizations that are participating in the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) or Income Tax Assistance – Volunteer Program in Quebec (ITAVP).

Date of acquisition: Date of which the individual last acquired the property.
Date of disposition: Date when an individual gives up possession, control and all aspects of property ownership.
Dependant: Someone wholly reliant on another individual for support. They must also be either the individual’s parent or grandparent, child or grandchild, brother or sister, uncle or aunt, niece or nephew, by blood, marriage, common-law partner, or adoption.
Divorced: Someone who is legally divorced is living separate and apart from their ex-partner, and is not in a new union.
Document control number (DCN): A number that is generated upon EFILE transmission or upon printing the form TIS60. This number does not mean that the return has been successfully transmitted to the CRA.

EFILE number: A number issued by the CRA to allow tax preparers to submit their clients’ tax returns electronically. Tax preparers must apply for an EFILE number and renew their existing EFILE account yearly.
Eligible child: Is one of the following:

the individual or the individual’s spouse’s or common-law partner’s child

a child who was dependent on the individual or the individual’s spouse or common-law partner for support and whose income for the year does not exceed the basic personal amount
Eligible dependant: Must be one of the following persons by blood, marriage, common-law partnership, or adoption:

a parent or grandparent

a child, grandchild, brother or sister under 18 years of age

a child, grandchild, brother or sister 18 years of age or older with an impairment in physical or mental functions
Executor: An individual or trust institution named in a will and confirmed by a court to settle the deceased's estate.

Greeter: The taxpayer’s first point of contact at in-person clinics.
Guaranteed income supplement: Also known as GIS, it is a monthly non-taxable benefit provided to old age security (OAS) recipients who have a modest income and live in Canada. Other residency criteria and income threshold requirements must also be met.

Identification number: A number other than a social insurance number (SIN), such as an individual tax number (ITN) or a temporary tax number (TTN) that allows individuals to file their income tax return, and apply for benefits.
Interpreter: Volunteer who facilitates communication between the taxpayer and other volunteers by acting as a translator.

Legal representative: An individual or organization appointed by a legal document. The limit of the actual authority is defined in the legal document.

Marital status: The status of being married, common-law, single, widowed, divorced or separated. The marital status reported on an income tax and benefit return must reflect an individual's status as of December 31 of the tax year.
Married: Someone legally married to a person.

Net income (net federal income): The amount remaining once all allowable deductions have been subtracted from the total income. Net income is used to determine eligibility and calculate entitlement amounts for most federal and provincial/territorial credits and benefits.
Net world income: Income from all sources both inside and outside Canada. This could be employment or pension income, social assistance and worker’s compensation benefits, and investment income.
Non-refundable tax credit: Amounts that an individual can claim to help reduce or eliminate their tax payable. However, if the total of these credits is more than the tax payable, there will not be a refund for the difference.
Non-resident: Individuals who normally live outside of Canada, or have no significant ties with Canada and spent fewer than 183 days in Canada. Generally speaking, newcomers are non-residents until the day of their arrival in Canada.
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code: A 6 digit code that best describes the business’s main revenue-generating business activity.

Occasional earnings: A type of employment income that may not be found on a T4 slip. All occasional earnings are taxable. Amounts earned from January 1 through December 31 must be reported on the tax return.

Part XIII

Part XIII tax is deducted from the most common types of Canadian income such as:

dividends
rental and royalty payments
pension payments
old age security pension
Canada Pension Plan and Quebec Pension Plan benefits
retiring allowances
registered retirement savings plan payments
registered retirement income fund payments
annuity payments
management fees

To ensure the correct amount is deducted, individuals must identify:

that they’re a non-resident of Canada for income tax purposes
their country of residence

Power of attorney (POA)

A legal document giving one person the power to act on behalf of another person. POA can be granted to act on behalf of an individual specifically for property and finances, specifically for health or personal care decisions, or for both. It is important to ensure that the individual has the correct authority before proceeding.

Principal residence

The condition under which the property was considered the individual’s principal residence for all the years they owned it.

Proceeds of disposition

The amounts an individual received or will receive for their property. In most cases, it refers to the sale price of the property.

Qualifying student: An individual who:

in the month is:

enrolled in a qualifying educational program at a designated educational institution (for example, a full-time student at a university) or

enrolled at a designated educational institution in a specified educational program that requires the student to spend at least 12 hours in the month on courses in the program (a part-time student)

proves enrollment upon request (by providing a certificate issued by the institution)

if enrolled in a program (other than a program at the post-secondary level) at a designated educational institution that is a Canadian university, college, or other post-secondary educational institution, or that is certified by the minister of Employment and Social Development Canada to be an educational institution providing certain courses, is at least 16 years of age before the end of the year and is enrolled in the program to obtain or improve their skills in an occupation

if living in Canada throughout the year and near the border of the United States and commuting to a designated educational institution in the United States, is enrolled in a program that is at the post-secondary level

Refundable tax credit: Credits that can be paid to eligible individuals, such as the climate action incentive payment. Often, these credits are issued by the federal and/or provincial government in a series of payments throughout the year. Some provinces also offer refundable tax credits related to provincial or territorial income tax.
RepID: A unique seven-character identifier issues when registering as a representative with the Represent a Client service.
Representative: A person, a group of people or a business that an individual authorizes to deal with the CRA on their behalf, such as:

an accountant

a bookkeeper

your spouse or common-law partner

another family member

a friend

a lawyer

a customs broker

an executor

a power of attorney
Reserve: As defined by the Indian Act, means a tract of land, the legal title to which is held by the Crown, set apart for the use and benefit of an Indian band.

Screener: Volunteer who ensures individuals have the required paperwork and who helps organize their documents. Screeners also ensure individuals meet the program eligibility criteria.
Separated: An individual who has been living separately and apart from their spouse or common-law partner because of a breakdown in their relationship for a period of at least 90 consecutive days.
Significant residential ties: These include:

a home in Canada

a spouse or common-law partner in Canada

dependants in Canada
Single: Applicable when none of the other marital status options apply.
Subscriber: Person who enters into the RESP contract with a promoter and names a beneficiary on whose behalf contributions are made.

Total income: Income from all sources, both inside and outside of Canada. Some common sources of income include; employment income, interest income, pension income, social assistance income and self-employment income.
Transmission: Means by which the tax return has been electronically sent to the CRA.

Widowed: Someone whose spouse or common-law partner is deceased and has not entered into a new union.

Date modified:: 2023-01-19

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Glossary or terms and definitions

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